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If we’re looking for silver linings, I guess that one plus point about the pandemic is that so many people have learnt how viable it is to work from home.
Because of this, we’re in the middle of a huge boom in budding entrepreneurs setting up their own businesses from the comfort of their front room. Blogs, Etsy craft shops, artists, podcasts – you name it, you’ve probably received a Facebook invite from someone you know who’s decided to go it alone.
If you’re one of the thousands to have started their own business though, you’ll have perhaps already found how difficult it is to get your brand noticed amongst the sea of other start-ups. Unfortunately, a great product doesn’t sell itself. You’ll need some professional-looking branding that’s more than just your name in Times New Roman on a white background.
The easiest way to set your business apart from the rest is to ensure that you don’t just use one of the standard fonts that are found on Microsoft Word or Google Docs. To get a real jump on the rest, you could use a specialist font site such as Font Bundles. There’s some really fancy fonts here that once downloaded, can be used on anything you wish: party invites, birthday cards, or even posters. If your focus is on building a brand though, here’s some ideas that might be useful to you.
Logo
Before you start on any of these ideas, you’ll need a logo.
Overly intricate designs don’t tend to work too well here. Think of Disney, McDonalds or Seiko; the world’s biggest companies have very simple designs and a recognisable font.
Those companies’ fonts are so recognisable because not only are they different, but they’ve been stuck to and reused again and again. Once you’ve chosen a great-looking font, make sure you stick with it so that consumers instantly equate the sight of it with your company.
Business Cards
So you’ve got your business set up. You’ll want to start letting people know about it right away. Business cards are a great way of spreading the word. You can hand them out at parties and networking events, or even pin them up on the local chip shop’s corkboard.
They’re simple to design if you download the right tools too. FontBundles.net have a variety of unique fonts that are completely free to download.
From there, it’s easy to upload those fonts as part of a ‘brand kit’ on Canva.
Canva is a simple-to-use web program that offers plenty as part of its free plan too. It even has templates that automatically alter the canvas size to the perfect dimensions for a business card.
Once you’ve designed it, send the card design to a local print shop or online printer such as VistaPrint, who can knock up your handiwork into hundreds of business cards quickly.
Website Titles
There’s very few businesses that don’t benefit from having an online presence now.
For many, a quick Google search on your company will be the first thing they look for. Once they find your site, make sure that it’s not just using the dull, block font that came with your website theme.
Canva allows for custom dimensions, so find out what your header image sizing is on your site, and get creative!
Here’s where your chosen font takes centre stage. Make sure it’s legible and fits with the theme of your site. Using just the free themes available on Font Bundles, I’ve been able to find several different fonts to fit different types of business.
Pinterest Pins
If you’re a blogger, you’ll need to brush up on how to use Pinterest. It’s a great resource for people looking for advice and articles on a wide range of different topics.
This is definitely an area in which it pays to have several different fonts from Font Bundles up your sleeve. An article all about Valentine’s Day ideas should use a different font to a post about unblocking toilets, for example.
T-Shirts
Why not dial that self-promotion up to ten, and make some T-shirts customised with your brand logo?
You can easily upload your design to any number of sites that will print it onto a quality garment. Options include Zazzle, RedBubble, CafePress, and VistaPrint.
If it looks cool enough, you might even be able to persuade other people to wear them, increasing your reach even further. Make sure to pick a Font Bundles font that will show up nicely on a tee, and can be read easily from a distance. All you need to do then is check what the design dimensions should be on your chosen site, and ensure that your Canvas template is customised to match.
Try a one-colour design in black or white to make it easy to incorporate on several different colour tees.